The 60s - Van Morrison | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic Van Morrison google+ AllMusic Review by Mark Deming In 1966, Van Morrison quit the band Them , a tough Irish R&B combo who cut a handful of almost-hits (including the original version of "Gloria") but had little to show for their work. A year later, Bert Berns , a producer who had worked with Them , launched a new record label, Bang Records, and he persuaded Morrison to sign with Bang as a solo act. Morrison 's tenure with Bang would prove to be contentious and short-lived (he would be recording for Warner Bros. by late 1968), but he did cut his first solo album for the label, Blowin' Your Mind! , which spawned Morrison 's first hit single, the infectious "Brown Eyed Girl," and included a handful of superb songs that would point the way to such future triumphs as Astral Weeks and Moondance . The 60s: Van Morrison is a ten-song collection drawn from Morrison 's recordings for Bang, featuring all but one of the tracks from Blowin' Your Mind!

(and including "Brown Eyed Girl"), as well as early versions of two Astral Weeks numbers, "Madame George" and "Beside You." While Blowin' Your Mind! has a better and more effective sequence, this collection does feature some of Morrison 's best tracks for Bang at a budget price, and the mastering is very good, giving this an edge over many, many of the collections of Morrison 's earliest solo work. Track Listing Peter Viney: Van Morrison & The Band Van Morrison & The Band by Peter Viney This article first appeared as 'Troubadours' in the Van Morrison newsletter Wavelength, issue 7, March 1996. For subscription information, see the Wavelength web site . You may also send an e-mail to Wavelength at wavelength@netcentral.co.uk , or contact Wavelength by telephone at +44 1270 528188, or write to: Wavelength, Po Box 80, Winsford, Cheshire CW7 4ES, ENGLAND. Copyright © Wavelength / Peter Viney 1996 Of course Iï¿½d seen him on Top of The Pops.

He was the long haired guy with the crap backing group who did Baby Please Donï¿½t Go in the mid sixties, and ï¿½ what was it ï¿½ not a classic blues this one, ah yes ï¿½ Here Comes The Night. Then I lost touch with Vanï¿½s music until a few years later in 1970. Some reviewer compared MOONDANCE to THE BAND. That was sacrilege to me at the time. Nobody and nothing compared to Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson - The Band. The review at least got me to listen to it. 1970 must have been a year or two before record stores shut their last booths. Booths were great. There were two seats, a loudspeaker facing directly into each ear, and a willing assistant might let you spend half the afternoon there. Which I did. One grey Norwich afternoon I listened through MOONDANCE from end to end. It actually annoyed me - like The Band! The guy was an obvious and pale imitation. Yeah, it was good, but it wasnï¿½t in the same league.

I didnï¿½t buy it ï¿½ but then it could have been the best album in the world and I wouldnï¿½t have bought it. Thirty five shillings was way beyond my means. Twenty five years later MOONDANCE is one of my all-time favourite albums. OK, The Band comes higher on that list, but at least Vanï¿½s been consistently pushing it out throughout the interim. Van Morrison had spent 1970 and 1971 in Woodstock, home of The Band. Heï¿½s said that Brand New Day from MOONDANCE was inspired by The Bandï¿½s I Shall Be Released. Like George Harrison and Eric Clapton and nearly any musician with ears at that time, Van was a Band fan. He hasnï¿½t done a great deal with The Band, but they have collaborated at intervals and the results shed light on both artists. This review of their work together is sub-divided discographically (if thereï¿½s such a word) with comments following the releases. I canï¿½t imagine that a Van fan would fail to like The Band, nor vice-versa.

Official releases LP (Capitol EA-ST 651) (1971) CHART: US # 21 UK # 41 Also on: The Band: To Kingdom Come 2 CD set (Capitol CDS 7 92169 2) (1989) 4% Pantomime (J.R. Robertson / Van Morrison) Van Morrison - lead vocal / Richard Manuel -lead vocal, drums / Rick Danko - bass / Levon Helm - present - possibly guitar or mandolin / Garth Hudson - keyboards / Robbie Robertson - lead guitar Van Morrisonï¿½s first meeting with any of The Band was actually in LA in 1970, where he ran into his Woodstock neighbour, Robbie Robertson. The result was a developing friendship with The Band, particularly with pianist Richard Manuel. The two men were equally caught up in the soul and sound of Ray Charles, and hit it off immediately. Van was invited to play with The Band on their fourth album, the critically reviled CAHOOTS. This was more of a privilege than it might seem nowadays.

The Band had declined Bob Dylanï¿½s offer to lend his name and backing vocals to MUSIC FROM BIG PINK, settling instead for a cover painting. Eric Clapton had disbanded Cream in sheer despondency after hearing that album. He even went up to Woodstock hoping heï¿½d pluck up the courage to ask to join them, but his nerve failed. George Harrison was taking a holiday from the infights at Apple by hanging out with The Band in Woodstock. The only outsider to feature musically on their early albums was producer John Simon. When Van played with The Band in 1971 his name wasnï¿½t worth extra sales to them in any way. He was there on merit. The song, 4% Pantomime has great lyrics and a pretty nondescript melody, which is par for the course on CAHOOTS. Itï¿½s a vocal duet between Richard Manuel and Van Morrison. The title comes from the 4% difference in proof between Johnny Walker Red whisky and Johnny Walker Black. The session results from Van dropping in by chance while Robbie Robertson was writing the song. Van decided to help, and they recorded it in one take the same evening.

Robbieï¿½s lyric was the first reference to Van as The Belfast Cowboy, though it seems Robbie had coined it before the session. Journalists owe Robbie a lot. Van and Richard were acting this whole thing out. For a second when I was watching, it became soundless and it became all visuals - peopleï¿½s hands and veins and peopleï¿½s necks. It was almost like this movement thing was going on, and the music was carrying itself. Itï¿½s bizarre and wild. It was a lot of fun to do it. It was an archive kind of thing that we actually put on record. Robbie Robertson Levon Helm was also impressed, though it seems Manuel had done one of his frequent switches from piano to drums on the session: Richard Manuel played the drums with our neighbour Van Morrison on a raucous number cut in one take, 4% Pantomime. This happened when Van came to Bearsville (studio) and began discussing the merits of scotch whisky with Richard.

They acted out some lyrics about management and a poker game and Richard sang, ï¿½Oh, Belfast Cowboy, can you call a spade a spade?ï¿½ It was an extremely liquid session, Van and Richard were into it, and there was horror among the civilians at the studio when the two dead-drunk musicians argued about who would drive the other one home. Richard drove, and I think he made it. Lord knows he wrecked a lot of cars that year. Levon Helm CAHOOTS ended The Bandï¿½s run of critical infallibility. The four best tracks, Dylanï¿½s When I Paint My Masterpiece, the group effort Life is A Carnival, Robertsonï¿½s The River Hymn (featuring Levonï¿½s wife Libby Titus on backing vocals) and 4% Pantomime can all be found on the TO KINGDOM COME double CD collection. The Band box set ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE has a similar selection, but unfortunately replaces 4% Pantomime with the weak The Moon Struck One.

The Band: The Last Waltz 3 LP set (Warner Bros K66076) (1978) 2 CD set (Warner Bros. 3146-2) CHART: US # 16 UK # 39 Produced by Robbie Robertson Co-production by Rob Fraboni & John Simon The Band: The Last Waltz Film 1978. Video (Warner Home Video PES 99354) 1988 LaserDisc (NTSC only) Tura Lura Lura (Thatï¿½s An Irish Lullaby) (James Royce Shannon) - ON ALBUM ONLY Caravan (Van Morrison) - ON VIDEO & CD Van Morrison - lead vocal / Rick Danko - bass, vocal / Levon Helm - drums, vocal / Garth Hudson - organ, / Richard Manuel - piano, vocal / Robbie Robertson - guitar, vocal / John Simon - piano in Tura Lura.

Horn section: Rich Cooper - trumpet, flugelhorn / Jim Gordon - tenor sax, flute, clarinet / Jerry Hay - trumpet, flugelhorn / Howard Johnson - tuba, baritone sax, flugelhorn, bass clarinet / Charlie Keagle - alto sax, flute, clarinet, tenor & soprano sax / Tom Malone - trombone, euphonium, alto flute, bass trombone / Larry Packer - electric violin I Shall Be Released (B. Dylan) Bob Dylan & Richard Manuel - vocal / Ringo Starr - drums / Ron Wood - guitar + The Band Backup vocals: Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr John. Neil Diamond, Paul Butterfield, Bobby Charles, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison The best live album ever? OK. The best rock film ever? If you like. Letï¿½s start out with a contemporary review of the actual concert from Rolling Stone, written before anyone had seen the film.

Manuel turned the piano over to John Simon, and began ï¿½Tura Lura,ï¿½ a song about an Irish lullaby; just as Manuel finished the first verse, Van Morrison made his entrance - and he turned the show round. I had seen him not many minutes before prowling the balconies, dressed nondescriptly in a shirt and jeans, scowling; but there he was on stage, in an absurd maroon suit and a green top, singing to the rafters. They cut into ï¿½Caravanï¿½- with John Simon waving The Bandï¿½s volume up and down, and the horns at their most effective - while Van burned holes in the floor. He was magic, and I thought, Why didnï¿½t he join The Band years ago? More than any other singer, he fit in, his music and theirs made sense together. It was a triumph, and as the song ended Van began to kick his leg in sheer exuberance, and he kicked his way right offstage like a Rockette. The crowd had given him a fine welcome and they cheered wildly when he left.

Greil Marcus The truth is that The Band were flagging at this point in their marathon all-star farewell concert (at Winterland in San Francisco, on Thanksgiving Day 1976). Thereï¿½d been stunning performances from Neil Young, Muddy Waters and Ronnie Hawkins, but the set lost momentum during Joni Mitchellï¿½s spot. Sheï¿½d eschewed the obvious hit song for the occasion (Big Yellow Taxi ) and had elected to play three difficult new songs. The Band had spent the previous night rehearsing and re-rehearsing her set in the light of her doubts about their ability to find her new groove. As you can hear from bootlegs of the whole show, sheï¿½d done an excellent Coyote and Darkness and Light then lost the whole thing during an uncertain and dire Furry Sings The Blues. Robbieï¿½s new friend Neil Diamond had followed, and did well enough, but it was the wrong audience for him. You can hear that The Band were getting tired and pedestrian by the time Van showed up.

After all theyï¿½d been on stage the whole time, while guests like Neil Young had been getting supercharged in the wings - one of Scorseseï¿½s tasks in editing was removing the boogie of cocaine on Youngï¿½s nostril from the film. But as Marcus says, Van took the show by its throat. Levon Helm agrees: By now it was after midnight, and the crowd was subdued. The momentum of the show had been lost halfway through Joniï¿½s set ï¿½ this was Vanï¿½s first appearance on stage in more than two years - and The Last Waltz was suddenly revived with a spectacular version of ï¿½Caravanï¿½. Van burned through his great song - ï¿½Turn it up! Little bit louder! Radio!ï¿½ - complete with kicksteps across the stage at the end. Van turned the whole thing around. God bless him for being the showman he is. Levon Helm Van had been watching the earlier part of the show, but according to manager Harvey Goldsmith decided to go back to the Miyako Hotel to change his clothes at the last minute.

Few commentators have been able to resist being unpleasant about Vanï¿½s sartorial taste. The maroon jumpsuit not only looked like a cast off from The Four Tops, it was spangled with sequins. I donï¿½t see why it was that funny though. Maybe it was unexpected for Van, but he was dressing to his role as a soul singer. Tura Lura Lura allowed two of the greatest white soul singers to compare their voices. The version of Caravan was phenomenal, and Robertsonï¿½s guitar and the horn parts lifted it into the stratosphere - even though The Band didnï¿½t manage to get as low in volume as other line-ups have. Robertsonï¿½s closing shout, ï¿½Van the Man!ï¿½ was to be echoed in the nineties; succesfully in A NIGHT IN SAN FRANCISCO, but somewhat naffly by Georgie Fame during the Autumn 1995 Jazz Tour. Van came back on for I Shall Be Released, which was sung by Dylan and Manuel. He shared the main mic with Dylan and Robertson for the choruses, so made an audible contribution. THE LAST WALTZ was a good career move for Van.

Heï¿½d been languishing in the doldrums in the mid-70s and his performance deservedly thrust him into the limelight again. On the actual show most artists had done two or three songs, but the rule Robertson and Scorsese adopted for both the film and CD was one each, except for Dylan. This rule was followed in the film, but on the CD Van was the only other artist to get two songs. See below under collectorsï¿½ tapes for further information about the original concert. Both the double CD and the video versions of THE LAST WALTZ are easily available. Unfortunately you need both. The video does not contain Tura Lura Lura, and you donï¿½t get to look at the jumpsuit on the CD. Various Artists: The King of Comedy (soundtrack) Warner Bros. US release LP 92-3765-1 (1983) also on: The Best of Van Morrison Polydor CD 841 970-2 (1990) Wonderful Remark (Van Morrison) Produced by Robbie Robertson.

Van Morrison - vocal, acoustic guitar/ Robbie Robertson - electric guitar / David Hays - bass / Jim Keltner - drums / Richard Tee - piano / Nicky Hopkins - organ, synthesizer. Produced by Robbie Robertson. Martin Scorsese and Robbie Robertson had shared a house while they were going through simultaneous marriage problems, and Robertson has collaborated on Scorseseï¿½s films, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Color of Money and Casino. Both of them believed passionately that the right choice of song created a commentary to a filmï¿½s action. Their policy now seems standard fare in films like Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction. The soundtrack to 1983ï¿½s King of Comedy runs the range from Ray Charles, Talking Heads, B.B. King, The Pretenders and Rickie Lee Jones. The most intriguing tracks were Between Trains, Robbieï¿½s first solo song since 1980ï¿½s film Carny, and his first original since ISLANDS, and Van Morrisonï¿½s Wonderful Remark. Both songs were produced by Robertson and the pace and melodies seem to go closely together.

Robertson approached Van Morrison for a contribution: I showed him the movie and he was very disturbed about how to relate to the whole thing. He took the job much more seriously than I thought. Robbie Robertson It seems that Morrison was incensed about Robert De Niroï¿½s role in the film, particularly the way in which De Niroï¿½s character was demanding fame when he hadnï¿½t paid his dues. Morrison showed Robertson a half-finished song from 1983 (the original version is on the forthcoming THE PHILOSOPHERï¿½S STONE )which ended up as a full production behind the closing titles. It fit. The song became Vanï¿½s classic obscurity. The album was hard to find, treasured by the few that had it. It finally really reached the wider public as the only rarity on THE BEST OF VAN MORRISON in 1990. THE KING OF COMEDY is well worth hunting for. Anyone reading this has probably got everything else on THE BEST OF ï¿½ Van Morrison: Wavelength LP, CD Warner Bros 3212-2 (1978) Produced by Van Morrison.

Kingdom Hall (Van Morrison) Van Morrison - acoustic guitar, vocal / Peter Bardens - piano, synthesizer / Bobby Tench - electric guitar / Mickey Feat - bass / Peter Van Hooke - drums / Garth Hudson - Yamaha synthesizer solo Venice, USA (Van Morrison) Van Morrison - acoustic guitar, vocal / Peter Bardens - organ / Bobby Tench - electric guitar /Mickey Feat - bass / Peter Van Hooke - drums / Garth Hudson - accordion / Herbie Armstrong -electric rhythm guitar Take It Where You Find It (Van Morrison) Van Morrison - acoustic guitar, vocal / Peter Bardens - piano, Roland horns / Bobby Tench - electric guitar / Kuma - bass / Peter Van Hooke - drums /Mitch Dalton - Spanish guitar / Garth Hudson - organ THE LAST WALTZ was where Van Morrison met Dr. John, and this had led to the A PERIOD OF TRANSITION album, which was not a happy time for either of them. Dr. John complained that a great deal of good material was rejected, and has restated the common complaint that Van was difficult to deal with.

Iï¿½d heard stories about how difficult Van could be from ï¿½ The Jazz Crusaders who had collaborated with Van on an album not long before. At the time The Jazz Crusaders were the premier band in the land, but apparently whatever went down wasnï¿½t right on the nail enough for Van. After they finished the record, Van decided he didnï¿½t like the album, and erased it. Heï¿½s probably one of the few guys that I ever felt like punching out in the middle of a session, but I didnï¿½t do it - not because I didnï¿½t feel like it, but because I respected his singing so much. Dr. John Van felt the same, Johnny Rogan quotes him as saying, ï¿½I donï¿½t want to work with this lot. Iï¿½m off,ï¿½ after a show with Dr Johnï¿½s selected back-up musicians.

After two problematic and intractable attempts with American musicians (Dr John had brought along Stevie Wonderï¿½s rhythm section), Van retreated to a more familiar line up for WAVELENGTH, which was pleasant enough, and a significant improvement on both A PERIOD OF TRANSITION and HARD NOSE THE HIGHWAY (which deserved a prize for worst cover design of the decade). For WAVELENGTH he brought together musicians from all the stages of his career - Herbie Armstrong had played in rival Belfast bands, Peter Bardens had played organ in one incarnation of Them and Garth Hudson brought back memories of Woodstock. Kingdom Hall is a rollicking opener which refers to Vanï¿½s youth as a Jehovahï¿½s Witness, yet has an Americana, gospel feel. Venice USA really showcases Garthï¿½s accordion, and Garth also adds organ to the closing track. The resulting album was the fastest selling of his career up to that point, going gold within three months. Its release coincided with the acclaim for the film of The Last Waltz.

It even had a magazine named after it eventually ï¿½ Roger Waters: The Wall - Live in Berlin Double CD (Mercury 846 611-2) (1990) Produced by Nick Griffiths and Roger Waters. Also on Video (1990) Van Morrison, Roger Waters - lead vocals / Rick Danko, Levon Helm - harmony vocals / Garth Hudson - accordion with The Bleeding Heart Band: Graham Broad - drums / Rick DiFonzo - guitar / Andy Fairweather-Low - guitar & bass / Nick Glennie-Smith - keyboards / Snowy White - guitar / Peter Wood - keyboards / Joe Chamay, Jim Farber, Jim Haaas, John Joyce - vocals. The Tide is Turning The Company The hi-fi video might be a better buy if you want to relish the spectacle which includes the Military Orchestra of the Soviet Army, the Rundfunk Orchestra and Choir, James Galway, Tim Curry, Thomas Dolby, Albert Finney and Marianne Faithful, Bryan Adams, Joni Mitchell, Scorpions, Cyndi Lauper, Paddy Maloney - and The Band, Van Morrison and Sinead Oï¿½Connor.

The credits for the Bandï¿½s contributions describe them as: The Band: Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson. So, The Band 1990 were down to a three piece (which has the same basic instrumental line up as Emerson, Lake & Palmer if you think about it. Perhaps better not) Here they sing, while Garth contributes accordion. The Band had backed Sinead Oï¿½Connor on Mother earlier. They then supported Van Morrison on the eight minute Comfortably Numb. The four men would seem at first sight to be an incongruous contribution to this ex-Pink Floyd epic, but in fact Van handled the vocal well against the bombastic pomp of the backing. Levon Helm and Rick Danko supported his sections. Collectorsï¿½ tapes and bootlegs ECï¿½s Birthday 30 March 1976 Collectorsï¿½ tape Van Morrison Soundcheck 23 November 1976: Tura Lura Lura Van Morrison, John Simon and The Band Three factors give the complete recording of THE LAST WALTZ interest value.

First some great performances never made it to the film or CD (Joni Mitchellï¿½s Darkness and Light, Neil Youngï¿½s Four Strong Winds, Eric Claptonï¿½s All Our Past Times, Muddy Watersï¿½ Caldonia ). Second there exists a long jam session after the show and (on collectors tapes only) bits of Clapton and Morrison doing sound checks. Thirdly, and most interestingly, these are the raw versions without overdubs. Levon Helm was critical of the amount of overdubbing in his autobiography. He quotes arranger John Simon: Iï¿½m pretty sure that Levon is the only honest, live element in The Last Waltz, with the exception of Muddy Watersï¿½ vocal. Everything else was overdubbed and redone ï¿½ Robbie was right in that there were some good reasons for overdubbing the whole thing. Richard wasnï¿½t singing well, Rickï¿½s bass was out of tune, and Robbie wanted to improve his guitar solos. Also the horns were completely out of balance and had to be redone in New York with arrangements Henry Glover and I put together.

The great thing was that Levon didnï¿½t need to do it over. He got it right first time, and those were the drum tracks used in the final mix. John Simon True or false? Well, true for a lot of it. Not so significantly for Vanï¿½s set though. The one thing thatï¿½s added to Tura Lura Lura is the rapturous reception that Van received - audience noise was removed from the final versions. The balance is completely different, but no one seems to be screwing up. On Caravan, you can see that Greil Marcusï¿½s review of the raw version was just as deserved as the accolades for the finished product. There seems to be more prominent organ from Garth, and the bass sounds muzzy rather than out of tune on the raw tape. As on most tracks, guitar is louder and more crisply played on the final version, which was Robbieï¿½s privilege as producer. The bass is more propulsive too, but that might be simply taking a direct feed as opposed to a general concert balance.

The horns are way more prominent and punchy on the final version - you can hear more of Garthï¿½s organ punching out the lines here than the horns. In the end though itï¿½s Vanï¿½s performance, and the audience reaction that still sounds real on both versions. The soundcheck version of Tura Lura proves that Van wasnï¿½t just ï¿½late on stageï¿½ in the concert, as some reviewers said. In rehearsal, Richard Manuel is already taking the first verse solo with Van entering later. Vanï¿½s very low in the mix - lucky they did a soundcheck then! The two-part vocal sections are actually better, it sounds as if the whole of The Band is there giving lift.

The Band: Nostell Priory, England 25 August 1984 Collectorsï¿½ tape Iï¿½m Forgetting (?) Caravan (Van Morrison) Van Morrison - lead vocals / Rick Danko - vocals, acoustic guitar / Garth Hudson - keyboards, saxophones/ Richard Manuel - vocals, piano WITH Ernie Cate - keyboards, vocals / Earl Cate - guitar, vocals / Ron Eott - bass, vocals / Terry Cagle - drums, vocals In 1983 and 1984 the four remaining Band members reformed to tour with the Cate Bros. This resulted in two videos, the widely distributed THE BAND IS BACK aka THE BAND REUNION CONCERT, and the Japan only release JAPAN TOUR . It seemed that they needed an extra drummer, Terry Cagle, and a bassist, Ron Eoff, to allow them to miss the more boring bits of backing duties, as well as Earl Cate to replace Robertson on guitar, and Ernie Cate who was surely superfluous as a third keyboard player.

Levon was furious when he found out that their 1984 American dates were to be interrupted for the rock festival at Nostell Priory in England. Levon took his cue from 4% Pantomime : Mr Booking Agent - donï¿½t book those jobs so far apart ï¿½ and declined to fly to England for just one show- shades of the 1965 Dylan tour when Levon also got off the bus. With the Cates on board, the others flew to England without Levon. After extensive touring with the Cates they didnï¿½t suffer too much instrumentally, though they had to be selective about what they could perform without one of their three lead vocalists. Rick Danko sounds uncharacteristically nervous as he launches into Levonï¿½s first verse in The Weight for instance, as does Richard Manuel later. The set was not up to standard, unsurprisingly. However, they lifted their act with another Van Morrison sit in for two numbers. Van had omitted Caravan from his own set, and saved it for The Band. The first is called Iï¿½m Forgetting on tapes, though it could equally be called War is Over.

The Band had closed their main set with Chest Fever, then came back with Van Morrison as their first encore. Rick Danko announces him without resorting to the cliched aliases (was that a first?). Itï¿½s a laid back country and western flavoured song with Rick Danko duetting on harmony vocal, and very tasteful guitar fills from Earl Cate. The audience were already calling for Caravan and they got it. This is much more restrained than The Last Waltz version, with Rick Danko again prominent on the choruses. The passion is lacking, but then so was the occasion. The quiet passage actually disappears, and as they come back up countryish guitar tries desperately to replace the horn section, and the rhythm section is comparatively wooden. Itï¿½s not a long version! A Band tradition has been to get guests to fill in verses in The Weight, but unfortunately they didnï¿½t do it this time! CODA It all came full circle for me watching Van on the Autumn 1995 tour. One of the standouts of his act was Ray Charlesï¿½ You Donï¿½t Know Me.

Watching it, I realised what I hadnï¿½t noticed on Vanï¿½s album version. For me the spirit of Richard Manuel hovered around Van during the performance, which can be seen as a heartfelt tribute to the Bandï¿½s dead pianist. Manuelï¿½s star turn in Levon and The Hawks had been You Donï¿½t Know Me, and it had featured heavily in his 1980s solo gigs. The Band only recorded the song for posterity on the JAPAN TOUR video, but anyone who had known Manuel would have associated the song with him forever - heï¿½d performed it at Nostell Priory, too. Van and Manuel were tight (in both the British and American senses) in the glory days in Woodstock.

Further Reading: Levon Helm & Stephen Davies ï¿½This Wheelï¿½s On Fireï¿½ Barny Hoskyns ï¿½Across The Great Divideï¿½ The Last Waltz: Bill Graham & Robert Greenfield ï¿½Bill Graham Presents ï¿½ï¿½ Greil Marcus ï¿½The Bandï¿½s All Star Adieuï¿½ in Rolling Stone 30 December 1976 Mary Pat Kelly ï¿½Martin Scorsese: A Journeyï¿½ Van Morrison: Johnny Rogan ï¿½Van Morrisonï¿½ Steve Turner ï¿½Too Late To Stop Nowï¿½ Other artists: Dr John & Jack Rummel ï¿½Under A Hoodoo Moonï¿½ Marc Roberty ï¿½Eric Clapton: The Complete Recording Sessions 1963-1992ï¿½ Van Morrison | Genius Van Morrison About Van Morrison Van Morrison (George Ivan Morrison, born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. He first appeared in the U.S.

as a member of the band, Them, then in the late 60s started a solo career. Morrison has released over 30 albums and continues to record and tour. Much of Morrison’s music is rooted in soul and rhythm and blues, but another part of his catalog is a long list of spiritually-inspired songs that point to his Celtic tradition. Popular Van Morrison songs Irish '60s Bands & Groups - Them, Belfast Other: Manager: Them were formed in Belfast in 1963, the original line-up being Billy Harrison (guitar), Eric Wrickson (organ), Alan Henderson (bass), Van Morrison (vocals/harmonica) and Ronnie Millings (drums). Morrison had previously played in a showband called The Monarchs. In July 1964 Wrickson departed to join The Wheels and Millings also left to become a milkman. Decca's Dick Rowe, having seen them perform at the Maritime, arranged a recording audition in London and to find a debut single. Seven songs were recorded, Groovin', You Can't Judge A Book, Turn On Your Lovelight, Gloria, One Two Brown Eyes, Philosophy and Don't Start Crying Now.

The last number was chosen for their first 45. It failed to break through nationally but sold well in Belfast. For their second single they covered the American blues classic, Baby Please Don't Go. With the stunning garage-punk standard, Gloria, on the B-side, this was arguably one of the finest R&B singles of the sixties. Both tracks featured fine vocal performances from Morrison but the remaining band members contributed little with Rowe utilising experienced sessionmen like Jimmy Page, who was responsible for the singles' fine guitar moments. In Great Britain, Baby Please Don't Go made the Top Ten. American producer Bert Berns (whose earlier credits included Hang On Sloopy, Twist And Shout and Under The Boardwalk) wrote and produced their next single, Here Comes The Night, which had been recorded by Lulu the previous year without much commercial success. This near-ballad featured another stunning vocal performance by Morrison and rose to No 2, becoming their biggest but last British hit. In April 1965 the first in a series of line-up changes took place, which culminated in the death of the band. Jackie McAuley left, totally disillusioned by the continual involvement of session-men on the band's recordings.

He was replaced by Pete Bardens. In July 1965, Jackie's brother Pat left (to be replaced by Terry Noone) and Billy Harrison was replaced by Joe Boni. In September 1965, Morrison and Henderson sacked Bardens, Boni and Noon and headed back to Belfast to look for new personnel. The McAuley brothers then formed Belfast Gypsies. A debut album, Them (sometimes referred to as Angry Young Them because that description appears on the back cover), came out in June 1965. In September 1965 Morrison and Henderson returned with another new line-up which is credited with recording the Them Again album, which mixed R&B standards with some Morrison originals. However, the album was apparently made with the assistance of other session players. Them finally split in June 1966 but later re-grouped in Los Angeles with Belfast vocalist Kenny McDowell (Moses K of The Prophets) in Morrison's place. This line-up cut two albums on Tower and continued, based in the US, into the seventies. The Now And Them album was a curious mixture of blues-rock and psychedelia.

Prior to the follow-up Roy Elliot departed and the band became a quartet. By the time of their second Tower album, Them were a fully fledged psychedelic rock band. Sadly, it marked the end of this line-up who split in 1968, disillusioned by their financial situation. Armstrong and McDowell formed Sk'boo back in Belfast. Them — Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and photos at Last.fm garage rock Them was a Northern Irish rock and roll band that was formed in Belfast in 1963. Best known for the garage rock standard " Gloria " and for launching singer-songwriter Van Morrison 's careers, the group had an energetic sound that fit right into the British blues and rock boom of the 60s . With Van Morrison on vocals and harmonica, it featured as well Billy Harrison on guitar, Eric Wrixen on piano and keyboards, Alan Henderson on bass, and Ronnie… read more Greg Douglass Contact Us GREG DOUGLASS Greg Douglass has been playing guitar for more than 40 years now and is certainly one of the most important Bay Area guitarists.

Greg's toured and recorded many bands including Terry Dolan & The Pirates, The Steve Miller Band, Greg Kihn Band, Eddie Money, Van Morrison, Tom Johnston, Peter Rowan, John Cipollina, Hot Tuna, and Country Joe McDonald. Greg's career started somewhere during the 60s in a band called 'The Virtues' which turned into 'Country Weather'. Both bands played covers and 'Country Weather' also played original music at venues including The Avalon and The Fillmore before they disbanded in the early 70s. Photo courtesy of Mike Somavilla Greg's next band “Mistress” could really work the crowd at live shows and got very good reviews. Greg then went on to join Terry Dolan and John Cipollina (of Quicksilver Messenger Service) and over the years has been included in many of Cipollina's bands. Greg also became involved with Sound Hole and went on tour with Van Morrison. During the late seventies Greg was a member of the Steve Miller Band and also of the Greg Kihn Band.

Luckily a demo tape Mistress recorded at Wally Heider's in 1973 was released 23 years later by the German Taxim label in 1996. Taxim also released Greg's first solo album 'Maelstrom' in 1993 on which Greg plays acoustic guitar. Greg's new passion for acoustic fingerstyle pickin' led to the release of 'The Natives Are Restless'. Recorded in 1997 and released initially on tape overwhelming response from his fans finally made him release the album on CD. Photo courtesy of Mike Somavilla During the 2001 Christmas season Greg recorded acoustic guitar versions of his favourite holiday songs released as "Holiday Favorites" at the end of 2003. In 2005 RD Records released the music of one of Greg's first bands “Country Weather”. Greg also released two educational guitar teaching DVDs in 2005. Greg performed on Greg Kihn’s single “Jeopardy” (1983), and he’s toured and recorded with Van Morrison, Duane Eddy, Link Wray, Hot Tuna, Dave Mason, and Eddie Money.

In addition, he co-wrote and played on the Steve Miller Band hit “Jungle Love” (1977). With Steve Miller Band bassist Lonnie Turner, Greg wrote "Jungle Love" as a demo for British guitarist Dave Mason and Miller opted to include it on his next album. Greg was asked to join the group after Miller had trouble duplicating his riff in the studio. Greg toured with Steve Miller between 1976 and 1981 and two more of his songs 'Goodbye Love' and 'Something Special" were recorded on the Steve Miller Band "Abracadabra" album, released in 1982. On July 9, 2010, at Pechanga, Greg played “Jungle Love” onstage with Miller for the first time in around thirty years after Steve announced that the writer of tune was in the audience and invited him to come up on stage to play his creation. The audience went nuts!

Backstage after the show he told Steve, “I come to the show trying to enjoy a quiet night off, and you make me work!” The song is included on numerous Steve Miller Band compilations, including Greatest Hits 1974-1978, the 35th-biggest-selling album of all time (13 million copies sold). Bizarrely, "Jungle Love" was used as the theme song for the final three seasons of the TV sitcom 'Everybody Loves Raymond'

Question: Van Morrison was a member of which 60s group?
Answer: Them